The Iron Age 1908-03-05: Vol 81 Iss 10

THE IRON AGE Published every Thursday Morning by David Williams Co. 14-16 Park Place, New York. Vol. 81: No. ro New York, Thursday, March 5, 1908. Sigh Cu iste ee Reading Matter Contents........ oe 0S — _ en — Alphabetical Index to Advertisers ‘* 288 Classified List of Advertisers = 278 Advertising and Subscription Rates ‘‘ 832 REED F. BLAIR & CO. FRICK BUILDING, PITTSBURG, PA. STANDARD CONNELLSVILLE COKE FOUNDRY FURNACE CRUSHED NITRO CLUB be a a U M C Nitro Clubs are moderate priced shot shells of high quality. Com pare them carefully with other makes. Feel the firm hard crimp and the beveled edge which allow the shells to work smoothly in repeating and autoloading guns. Note the uniform recoil and report. Test their penetration and pattern. From primer to crimp they are perfect shell. They get the game and that’s the prac- tical test—and why sportsmen buy them. Don’t overlook UMC Nitro Clubs— they sell well. The American. Mfg. Co. Ropes and Twines 65 Wall Street, New York Quality high and Price moderate. The Union Metallic Cartridge Company Write to M. HARTLEY COMPANY, Sole Representative, 313 Broadway, N. Y. BRISTOL'S RECORDING INSTRUMENTS Ask for cat. R. THE BRISTOL CO., Waterbury, Conn New York, 114 Liberty St. Chicago, Monadnock Bldg. “|\WATER TUBE O6h4e Babcock @ Wilcox Co. gg Wssetss BOILERS seo pasecs ? Newtert “Capewell Nails! Quick Sales! ¥ sth o® ma hs go oSESGE END Fae NCO os ons? wr q There is a much larger demand by horseshoers 0. for ‘‘Capewell” horseshoe nails than for other brands. @ ‘‘Capewell’’ drive the best, hold the best and SELL THE BEST TURNBUCHLES ii Cleveland City Forge and iron Co., O R ES. MADE BY IRON ot Bean Pate The ‘Cape ell Horse Nail Company Pilling & Grane Se Hartford, Conn., U. S. A. TAPES LMM as JENKINS °96 SHEET PACKING IN AMERIC | 7 meas IN Mira WORLD THE LUFKIN RULE oon moans . U.S.A. New York, London, Eng., Windsor, Can. The Original Unvulcanized Packing. Suitable for all steam joints. Not onlydoes it make a tight joint quickly, but it makes a joint that wi// /ast. Made in sheets, and also, to order, in GASKETS cut to any size or shape. All genuine is stamped with Trade Mark as shown in the cut, and is guaranteed. AMERICAN JENKINS BROS., New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, London. SHEET AND TIN PLATE ieclillcttetoe: mana Ennion | SMO” Old Roll Stel etn Tang o« Stamping Makers of THE AMBRICAN TUBB @ GY Auetne COMPANY 25 (Water and Kai! Delivery) BRID@EPORT, Co! PAGB MAGNOLIA raiciion METAL Black and Galvanized Sheets Roofing Products ee The Standard Babbitt of the World in ate We manufacture Terne Plate Sapbit Lie Quality and Service are prominent features “e MAGHOLIA METAL CO. with us. See Ad. on Page 16. New York: 115 Bank St. Chicago: Fisher Building. Montreal: 31 St. Nicholas St. TIN PLATE SHEET STEEL Any Coating or Finish. DEEP DRAWING, STAMPING and SPINNING qualities a Specialty. FOLLANSBEE BROTHERS COMPANY MANUFACTURERS PITTSBURGH AGE SHEET THE IRON BRASS!" COPPER! GERMAN SILVER ! LOW BRASS, SHEET BRONZE, SEAMLESS BRASS AND COPPER TUBING, BRAZED BRASS AND BRONZE TUBING : : : ¢: ¢: Waterbury Brass Co. WATERBURY, CONN. p9 John St., New York. Providence, R, 1. WIRE SHEET ROD WIRE SHEET ROD WIRE Bridgeport Deoxidized Bromze & Metal Co. BRIDGEPORT, CONN. Phosphor and Deoxidized Bronze Composition, Yellow Brass and Alumie« num Castings, large and small Matthiessen & Hegeler Zinc Co. La Salle, Illinois. SMELTERS OF SPELTER AND MANUFACTURERS SHEET ZINC AND SULPHURIC ACID Special Sizes of Zinc cut to order. Rolled Battery Plates. Selected Plates for Etchers and Lithographers’ use. Selected Sheets for Paper and Card Makers’ use. Stove and Washboard Blanks. ZINCS FOR LECLANCHE BATTERY. Be meres PPE ean 105 -109 So. Ree ee te Chicago. Best Bronze, Babbitt Metals Brass and Aluminum CASTINGS GERMAN SILVER THE SEYMOUR MFG. CO. HENDRICKS BROTHERS Eoastintans Belleville Copper Rolling Mills, Manufacturers of Braziers’ Bolt and Sheathing COPPER COPPER WIRE AND RIVETS Ingot Co Dper, Block ‘Tin. camiaee! Lead, Antimony, etc. 49 CLIFF ST., NEW YORK. Consulting Chemists, NICKEL ANODES Brass, Bronze. and Copper SEYMOUR, CONN. ET | The Plume & Atwood Mig. Co Manufacturers of Sheet and Roll Brass WIRE Printers’ Brass, Jewelers’ Metal, German Silver and Gilding Metal, Copper Rivets and Burrs Pins, Brass Butt Hinges, Jack Chain Kerosene urners, Lamps, Lamp Trimmings, & 279 Broadway, NEW YORK Room 508 Heyworth Building, East Madi: son St., CHICAGO, ILL. Rolling Mill THOMASTON, CONN. Factories WATERBURY, CONN. SCOVILL MFG. CO. ANUFACTURERS OF BRASS, GERMAN SILVER, Sheets, Rolls, Wire Rods, Bolts and Tubes, Beass Shells, Cups, Hinges, Buttons, Lamp Goods, Special Brass Goods to Order. WATERBURY, CONN. DEPOTs: NEW YORK CHICAGO BOSTON HenrySouther Engineering Co. HARTFORD, CONN. Metallur- gists and Analysts. Complete Physical Testing Laboratory. Expert Testimony in Court and Patent Cases. Arthur T. Rutter & Go. 256 Broadway NEW YORK Small tubing in Brass, Copper, Steel, Aluminum, German Silver, &c. Sheet Brass, Copper and German Silver. Copper, Brass and German Silver Wire. Brazed and Seamless Brass and Copper Tube. Copper and Brass Rod. | “PHONO-ELECTRIC” WIRB. “ITS TOUGH,’ m TROLLEY, ® TELEPHONE sa iitena ce ee and TELEGRAPH awe §6LINES. -« BRIDGEPORT BRASS COMPANY, ‘ostal Telegraph Snations and Murray a York. PHOSPHOR-BRONZE GERMAN SILVER Mills — epo Conn. THE RIVERSIDE METAL Co. Riversipe, N. J. The Atlas Electric Ore Car. The large quantities of ore consumed daily by modern blast furnaces call for enormous storage capacities and economical and durable apparatus for transferring the ore from the stock piles to the furnaces. A car for the latter purpose, which is operated by a novel combination of electric and air power, is herewith illustrated. It was built by the Atlas Car & Mfg. Company, Cleveland, Ohio, for the Richard Hecksher & Sons Company, Swedeland, Pa., one of the pioneer furnace companies of the East. on the recommendation of Frank C. Roberts & Co., Philadel A 50-Ton Ore Car with Electric Motive Power and Compressed Air Door phia, Pa., who had charge of modernizing the above fur- naces. The car is built of structural material, and large fac- tors of safety were allowed throughout to insure rigidity and strength for the rough usage these cars are subject to. The bottoms are reinforced to withstand the impact of a load of 6 tons falling 20 ft., being loaded from a trav- eling bridge carrying a large clam shell bucket. False bottoms are used to allow for wear, and they are easily renewable. Because the material is of a sticky nature, especially in wet weather, the angle of the bottom is greater than 50 degrees, and no material can lodge or stick to the car when the load is being discharged. The car shown is designed to carry a load of 40 to 60 tons, and when making a round trip every three or four minutes can handle 600 tons per hour, or 6000 tons in a working day of 10 hr. This can easily be accomplished, owing to the high power of the motors and the speed at which the doors can be opened and closed and the car operated. The tonnage handled is largely governed by the rate of loadings. The car when not in its regular use is employed as a switching engine, doing the work of a 50- ton locomotive with ease. THE IRON AGE New York, Thursday, March 5, 1908. Over the drawheads the car is 25 ft. 6 in. long, the hight from the top of the rail to the top of the loading point is 10 ft. 4 in., and the width, over all, is 10 ft. 6 in. The maximum capacity is 1000 cu. ft., or 125,000 Ib., and the normal load 100,000 lb. The operator stands on one end of the car, where all levers and handles are conveni ently accessible for rapid operation. The doors are man ipulated by admitting air to a vertical cylinder placed underneath the platform, as shown in the line drawing. The piston in this cylinder is connected with a rod carry- ing a rack at its upper end, which meshes with a gear on the main operating shaft. This shaft extends from end to end of the car beneath the apex of the gable bottom, . 7 7 * Re ee ant + and Brake Operating Mechanism, Built by the Atlas Car & Mfg. Company, Cleveland, Ohio. where it is protected from grit and dirt. Two rocker arms at each end of this shaft have their outer ends piv- oted to links connecting with the swinging edges of the two doors. At the closed position of the doors the inner ends of the links are carried beyond the center at each side, thereby relieving the strain on the shaft and bear- ings, making a direct pull through the centers and lock- ing with a toggle effect. The shaft is supported by large bearings at each side of the rocker arms. A take up for wear on the outer end of the connecting links can be ad- justed so that the doors can always be made to close tight. To open or close the doors the operator turns the handle of a special valve which has an indicator to show its position. By shifting the handle in one direction air is admitted to the bottom of the piston, and at the same time air is held as a cushion at the top of the piston. In this way the load can be emptied gradually or instantly as desired. In the same way the doors can be gradually closed by shifting the handle in the opposite direction. The door operating cylinder is of special design. Owing to the slow movement special hydraulic packing is used in the piston to insure against loss of air. Both heads 740 are equipped with safety valves to prevent injury to the head or stuffing box by carelessness of the operator, and oil and drip valves are placed in the heads to drain the cylinder in frosty weather. All pipes are provided with unions, so as to be readily removable for making repairs. As heretofore stated, the car can be used as a switch- ing engine, consequently great strength is given to the frames to withstand shocks, and the drawheads and draft rigging are made of malleable iron and steel castings. The electrical equipment on this car is an important feature, owing to the severe use and constant work to be performed. On each truck a No. 93 Westinghouse railway motor is attached, wound for 500 volts direct current. The driving wheels are ground to equal circumferential measurements to insure the maximum tractive effort. The axles are of hammered iron 6% in. in diameter, with 5% x 10 in. journals and special bronze bearings. For the full control of the car sensitive air brakes are provided, as well as emergency hand brakes. A separate motor for driving the compressor which supplies air to the brake and door operating cylinders is located under the platform and is easily accessible for oiling or repair- ing. The compressor is of duplex type, and has an auto- matic controller to regulate the air pressure in the reser- voir; the reservoir is extra large on account of the dou- ble duty of maintaining a supply for the door opening de- vice, as well as the brakes. The controller for the axle motors is of standard re- SS 22 | o ae 75 H.P. MOTORS versible inclosed drum type, and there are also provided a lightning arrester, an automatic circuit breaker, a whistle, a cutout switch, and the necessary resistance. The wir- ing is heavily insulated; all main cables are placed in indurated hose and where the wiring is connected to the motors special terminal pieces are applied. A lamp on the platform enables the operator to see the pressure gauge and various levers, when working in dark places. By standing on a step the motorman can see over the top of the car when switching cars and running backward. Two trolley poles are used since a ground return is not feasible in the furnace yard. The return current is car- ried through the secondary trolley. A pentagonal trolley can be used which takes care of itself on curves and crossings, and when reversing the direction of travel. As the car is to be run in all conditions of weather, a special electric heater is applied to the bottom in winter, which is used to keep the ore from freezing to the lining of car. Should one motor be disabled it may be cut out and the other used alone, each being large enough to take care of the service. The operator need not be a skilled me- chanic; any careful workman can easily handle the car as all levers are marked and a diagram is attached to each showing its use. The use of this car is not confined to blast furnaces, it is quite as serviceable around smelters or other indus- trial plants, where large quantities of coarse material are to be transported. As a means of shunting or transfer- ring cars, either loaded or in trains when notin its regular use, the car is economical and is always ready and ac- cessible. The Atlas Car & Mfg. Company is now building this type of car with an automatic weighing device so that THE IRON AGE March 5, 1908 accurate records of the amounts of material carried can be kept, and also manufactures a full line of standard and narrow gauge electric cars for all services. —— +e Coal Consumed in Reheating Steel Ingots. The cost of reheating Bessemer and open hearth ingots varies, inasmuch as the charging of Bessemer ingots to the soaking pits is usually continuous, whereas, in open hearth practice there is often an interval of several hours, during which no ingots are being charged. When the open hearth furnaces are pouring, the ingots naturally crowd the soaking pits, several heats of steel being deliv- ered at the same time. All this steel cannot be charged hot in the furnace, and for this reason a considerable quantity of the ingots are cold before being charged, with a consequent increase in the amount of heat required to bring them to working temperature. The average output and fuel consumption of the pit furnaces, based upon above varying conditions, as determined by the S. R. Smythe Company, Pittsburgh, are as follows: Capacity of one four-hole soaking pit furnace for 24 hr., using producer gas, 170 tons, operating with part hot and part cold ingots. Operating with all hot ingots, the capacity is 220 tons. The coal consumed per ton of steel in reheating part hot and part cold ingots ranges from 300 to 500 Ib. For reheating all hot ingots the coal con- sumption varies from 200 to 250 lb. The coal under con- TO OPERATE BRAKES \ Side and End Elevations of the Atlas Electric Ore Car. sideration is average Pennsylvania or West Virginia bituminous run of mine gas coal, the average analysis of which is shown in the following table, together with that of the gas produced from it: Analysis of Coal. Per cent. Per cent. Pere rr Tre 1.19 I i salen ae ewe a hh on 6.2 Volatile matter.........36.05 WORMED éccascesnesiee oo wae Fixed ‘CATDOR. ...ccesess 55.76 Analysis of Gas. Per cent. Per cent. NR I so wine en meee 11.41 Carbon monoxide, CO...22.98 , SPiecnesewesae 0.08 Carbon dioxide, COs..... 4.04 Carbohydrates ......... 3.61 PEMOROO, ‘Thdce cs vececes 57.88 —_~+e____. The Jones & Laughlin Steel Company is roofing all the buildings of its new plant at Aliquippa, Pa., with Bonanza reinforced concrete roofing tile, manufactured by the Hunkins-Willis Lime & Cement Company, St. Louis, Mo. The United States Steel Corporation is using the same roofing for the buildings of its great works at Gary, Ind., and will have there a total of about 29,000 squares. The Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company has now more than 20 acres of Bonanza roofing at Crystal City, Mo., and has contracted to use the same roofing for all the buildings of its immense plant to be erected at Kokomo, Ind. This tile is specially adapted for use on factories or other buildings where roofs are subject to deterioration from steam, smoke, acid fumes, &c. Copper, in the judgment of President Daniel Guggen- heim of the American Smelting & Refining Company, has taken the place of iron as a barometer of the business situation. March 5, 1908 THE Gisholt Turret Lathe Work. The following description of methods for finishing pistons and piston rings, furnished by the Gisholt Ma- chine Company, Madison, Wis., may be taken as a contin- uation of the general subject of machining gas engine parts in a turret lathe, begun in The Jron Age, January 20, 1908, under the same title as above, which described two methods of finishing flywheels, one involving only one operation, and the other two operations. Fig. 1 herewith shows a gas engine piston, which, it will be observed, has a ring for chucking purposes cast on the closed end. The ring is about 144 in. long, and its diameter is but a trifle less than that of the piston itself. The piston a is first held with special hard chuck jaws b, and the open end is rough-bored with the cutter c in the bar d, the latter being held in a drill holder and supported in the drill support close to the work. Then igre Fig. 1.—A Method of Finishing a Gas Engine Piston in a Gisnolt Turret Lathe. with the cutter ¢ held in the bar f the piece is finish- bored in a similar manner. The drill support is then turned back on its hinge out of the way, and the piston is rough-turned with the tool g in the turret tool post (this tool is not shown in its working position) ; and next finish-turned with the tool h. The grooves for the piston rings are then cut with the gang tool i in the tool-post, the latter being swung through an angle of 90 degrees to bring the tool 7 into position. 2 For the second operation the piece is reversed, and is held in soft jaws which have been substituted for the jaws b and are bored to the outside diameter of the piston. The chucking ring is then cut off and the end of the piston is faced. If the crank pin hole is also to be finished, another operation is necessary; a self-center- Fig. 2.—A Method of Forming Piston Rings in a Gisholt Turret Lathe. ing chuck-plate and other boring tools are required, but are not shown in the illustration. The formiug of piston rings is illustrated in Fig. 2, which shows a cylindrical cast iron piece b with three lugs a, cast on one end, so arranged that the piece may be held in a three-jawed scroll chuck. This cylindrical piece is about 10 in, long and where the rings are to be concentric inside and out the standard jaws suffice. The piece is rough-bored, with the cutter c in the bar d, after which it is finish-bored with the cutter e in the bar f. While taking the cut each bar is supported in a bushing in the chuck. The periphery of the piece is rough-turned with the tool g held in the turret tool post. This is done while rough-boring with the cutter c in the bar d. After the periphery is rough-turned and the hole is finished, the turret tool-post is revolved sufficiently to bring the finish- ing cutter c into action and the periphery is finished; then the tool-post is again revolved so as to bring cutters i into action, and four rings are cut off, nearly simul- taneously, the first cutter being set a little in advance of the next one, and so on. IRON AGE 747 When the bore of the piston ring is not concentric with the periphery the cylindrical piece b is first bolted to a sliding chuckplate j, and the periphery is rough- turned with the tool g in the tool-post. It is then fin- ished to size with the tool h in the tool-post. Then the sliding chuck plate carrying the work is moved over a distance equal to the eccentricity desired and the piece is rough-bored with the cutter ec in the-bar d and the hole is finished with the cutter c in the bar f. The turret tool-post is then revolved, the cutters i brought into play and the rings cut off as before. It will be evident that this gives a far greater output of rings than is possibile by finishing them in the usual way on engine lathes. The faces of the rings may be finished in another operation, if desired, or they may be ground. cncccac tiles A Copper and Brass Institute Proposed. A movement has been started in England to form a Copper and Brass Institute to stimulate scientific re- search regarding nonferrous metals. The following in- formation has been received relative to the action taken at a preliminary meeting: A meeting of copper and brass manufacturers, engi- neers and others was held in Manchester, England, on February 18. W. H. Johnson of Richard Johnson, Clap- ham & Morris, Ltd., Manchester, was elected chairman. It was unanimously resolved to form a Copper and, Brass Institute. The impetus to this movement was given by a letter from W. H. A. Robertson of Bedford, which ap- peared in Engineering on January 24. The objects of the institute are similar to those of the well-known Iron and Steel Institute, follows: 1. To afford a means of communication between members of the trades in question bearing upon their respective manufactures, excluding all questions connected with wages and trade regulation. 2. To arrange periodical meetings for the purpose of discussing practical and scientific subjects relating to the manufacture, working up and use of the nonferrous metals. It is not the intention of the founders to limit the institute to the copper and brass trades, but to include all those connected with the commercially important non- ferrous metals and their alloys, as lead, zine, tin, alumi- num, nickel, silver, gold, platinum, &c. In order to obtain a much wider and fuller discussion than was possible at the preliminary meeting, and to define the constitution and method of procedure of the institute, it is proposed to hold a meeting in the Midland Hotel, Manchester, on March 10. A similar movement in the United States last year resulted in the formation of the American Brass Foun- ders’ Association, which includes not only founders, but all manufacturers who work the nonferrous metals. The London Jron and Coal Trades Review says that the pa- pers and discussions of the British Foundrymen’s Asso- ciation have been to too great an extent of an academic character, and that in general the practical study of metallurgy has been largely neglected by the various technical associations in Great Britain. It adds: “ Pa- pers are forthcoming in large numbers from college pro- fessors, but it is only occasionally that the suggestions made in these papers can be applied by the practical man. Where practical work on novel lines has been carried out, we are far too much disposed in this country to keep the results a profound secret, and while this continues to be the case, technical progress can never be as rapid as it is in the United States and Germany, where this practice does not exist to anything like the same extent.” as ———4+-9——— The greatest store of gold ever accumulated is now in the Treasury of the United States. On February 26 it passed the $1,000,000,000 mark, establishing an epoch. Of course, only a part of this gold belongs to the Govern- ment, as $829,651,869 was held in trust for private owners, against which gold certificates have been issued and are in circulation as currency. Of the remainder, $150,000,000 is in the greenback reserve fund. 748 THE Overcharges on Through Shipments. Reform Needed in Billing Over Connecting Lines. BY R. L. ARDREY. Many large’ industries, especially those handling heavy products or materials, sell their goods either delivered or with freight prepaid. Where these shipments traverse several connecting lines a large percentage of the freight bills are overcharged. Even when the consignee holds a bill of lading which shows that the freight has been pre- paid in full, there are often additional charges which the delivering road insists upon collecting. On short hauls, or where there is a considerable tonnage of this class passing over one route, there is not much trouble, but houses which distribute their product over a wide terri- tory in this manner have a large amount of their capital tied up in overcharges, which they have great difficulty in collecting from the railroads. A member of the Interstate Commerce Commission, in correspondence regarding a case of this kind, could give the shipper no comfort, excepting to say that it is a mis- demeanor, subject to a fine of $5000, for a delivering agent to collect more than the lawful rate on a shipment. Every important railroad in the country commits this misde- meanor thousands of times in the course of a month’s business, but no shipper wants to take advantage of so drastic a penalty for the mere mistakes of the clerks who handle the billing. It may be, however, that this penalty, which is provided in the Interstate Commerce law, will impel the railroads to adopt a more accurate system in handling their freight accounts. The “Through Waybill® a Remedy. Shippers who have investigated the question of over- charges on through traffic believe that at least 90 per cent. of the trouble could be obviated if the railroads would accept the “ through waybill” method of handling freight which passes over several roads, on a through rate. The through waybill goes with the car, from initial point to destination, and carries on its face the through rate and the explanation of any additional charges which may have accrued. The agent at destination makes out the expense bill for the amount of the through rate which ap- pears on the waybill, and itemizes any additional charges. The division of the rate is handled by the freight audit- ing departments of the roads participating in the haul. Leading railroad and auditing officials believe in this method of handling through freight. and they have been trying to get it adopted. Several progressive railroads have followed this method for years in their interchange of business, but they have found it very difficult to se- cure the general adoption of the plan by their connecting lines. It may be that, by a‘ little wholesome agitation, large shipping interests could assist in getting recognition for this method. The Trouble Comes from Rebillinge. The prevailing method of handling through shipments is to bill the car from junction to junction. The agent at point of shipment makes out a waybill which only goes as far as the junction point where the car is de- livered to the connecting line. The junction agent of the connecting line makes a new waybill, or “rebills” the ear, entering on his waybill as “ advance charges” the amount which has been biiled to him as the revenue of the initial line. Each road turns in its waybill to its auditing department. The junction agent pays in cash the advance charges on all cars that he receives. AS a rule the agents at junction points make weekly settle- ments on their interchange of traffic, but in many cases a delivering line requires cash on delivery on each car. On long hauls cars are often rebilled half a dozen time or more, and it is natural that there should be many overcharges. The junction billing clerk will be more likely to make a mistake in favor of his road than to undercharge a car, because tissue copies of all his bills go to the auditing department of his road. The through rate should be carried forward on the waybill, but this is often omitted, and after a car has been rebilled sey- IRON AGE March 5, 1908 eral times the billing clerk has nothing to guide him but the advance charges. When the shipment reaches desti- nation the final waybill may show that the delivering road has charged the correct rate, but the advance charges represent money which it has actually paid out on receipt of the car, and the local agent would rather have the consignee present a claim than to attempt to get the billing corrected himself. On a large percentage of through shipments the local agent at destination does not know where the car came from. The initial point, the through rate and other im- portant information have been omitted, and the last waybill does not even show what intermediate lines have handled the shipment. The consignee must pay the amount shown in the billing, and send the expense bill to the shipper, and it often takes several months to trace the shipment, locate the error and get it corrected. Complexities in the Division of Rater, There are many complexities in the division of rates on through business which confuse the billing clerk and multiply his errors. In some cases the road has a pro- portional tariff, or receives a definite number and fraction of cents per 100 lb. on a through haul. In other cases the through rate is divided on a percentage basis. There are many bridge tolls and other arbitrary charges or de- ductions. The Missouri River bridge toll of 5 cents per 100 Ib. is charged on thousands of cars that never get within 100 miles of the Missouri, and the Oakland ferry toll and similar charges are counted as arbitraries on traffic that never reaches the point on which the charge is based. The lighterage charge at New York is too be- wildering a subject to discuss. All these arbitrary charges, proportions and percentages must be figured on through traffic, and it is a wonder that overcharges are not a greater nuisance than they are under the junction system of billing. The through waybill leaves to the auditing depart- ments of the roads the settlement of all these complica- tions. There are no advance charges to accumulate at each junction, as a lien on the shipment. The consignee pays the through rate, which appears on the waybill, and the auditors settle all differences in dividing the amount thus received. The junction agents merely send “ pass- ing” reports to their auditors and have nothing to do with the billing, except on some Eastern lines where set- tlements are still made weekly by junction agents, on a modified form of through billing. A KRelic of Past Conditions, The junction method of billing originated in the dark age of railroad traffic, when it covered a multitude of sins. In those days the initial line made the rate to con- form with existing relations between the shipper and the railroad, and to meet competition. ‘“ Paper” tariffs were not always followed in making actual rates, and it be- came a habit with railroad employees and local agents to follow the billing implicitly in the matter of charges, without any regard to printed tariffs. No change could be made in the charges shown in the billing without the authority of the initial carrier, and this long established custom or habit is more sacred to the billing clerks of the railroads than the law enacted by Congress, The initial carrier no longer enjoys the right to quote or make rates which differ from the published tariffs. The published through rate is now law, which must be obeyed by both shippers and carriers. ‘The billing, which was once regarded as the only guide to be followed in figuring freight bills, has become a mere subordinate de- tail. The old custom, however, cannot be changed in a day. Most of the railroads continue to base their freight bills on the accumulation of advance charges, which have been billed against the car from junction to junction, and settled by the junction agents. The Central Freight Association has recently taken a step which clears away one obstacle in the way of the modern method of joint or overhead billing. The rail- roads in this association, which cover the territory east of Chicago and north of the Ohio River, have decided that in the future they will not advance money against a car, in settlements between roads, for anything excepting lawful freight charges. While this new rule was under discussion a case came eh hE i a rete nN March 5, 1908 up which shows that the railroads themselves, as well as the shippers, have trouble with overcharges. A_ ship- ment was refused in Michigan on which the last road had paid out $4000 in advance charges, and it took 60 days of vigorous investigation to find where the car came from and to obtain a detailed statement of the $4000 of charges so the trouble could be located. The shipment had come from Mexico, and the freight bill included customs duties, fees and various other complications, covering money which had been advanced by the connecting lines. It would seem as though shippers would be justified in fol- lowing the policy which the railroads themselves have adopted, of refusing to pay more than the lawful rates. —_——_-_ »>-e____ — Lowest Freight Rates. How Shippers and Receivers Can Get Them. BY A SHIPPER, A remarkably increased effort is being manifested by shippers and receivers of freight in the question of ob- taining from carriers the most efficient service at the least cost. Because of this :nterest and study many mer- chants have obtained information that enables them to reduce their freight accounts. How Important Savings May Be Made, It is a fact that many shippers and most receivers of freight give no thought to routing. Unless the shipper pays the freight, he rarely considers that it is to his interest to offset what some competitor may be accom- plishing by having a very thorough knowledge of what route will save his customers the greatest amount of freight. Yet the largest shippers employ their own traf- fic managers, an important duty of whom it is to know the most advantageous route to select for each shipment. Railroad companies are supposed to bill freight via the route most favorable to the consignee, but the fact re- mains that the carrier protects its interest and that of its allied lines, and the burden of knowing the cheapest route must rest with the shipper or receiver. Many mer- chants have not considered this question, but, upon hav- ing attention called to it, those who investigate have usually found it possible to effect some saving. The majority of receivers of freight pay their freight bills without any thought as to overcharges. Recent in- quiry developed the fact that a very large retail house always burns its freight bills a short time after the freight is received, without any investigation or audit. Traffic managers for business houses and traffic bureaus know that a large percentage of the rates used are in- correct. This is often due to purely clerical errors by freight billing clerks, who frequently depend upon mem- ory for rates, but another overcharge is that made in pro-rates. A carload of merchandise was recently shipped and billed at the regular quoted through rate of 23 cents per 100 Ib. The merchant’s traffic manager found by using the rates of the several roads over which the car traveled that the total rates figured only 19 cents. A claim was entered for this overcharge of 4 cents per 100 Ib., and it will have to be refunded, as the Inter- state Commerce Commission has ruled to that effect in a similar case. <A traffic manager holding an important position states that at least 25 per cent. of the claims he makes on railroad companies are because of in- correct rates. Classification Should Be Carefully Looked Atter, Another common error made by railroad billing clerks is in regard to classification. Depending upon memory is one cause, but the most frequent errors are made by billers incorrectly selecting an item in the classifica- tion which they consider covers the article shipped. Every shipper and receiver of freight should obtain an official classification book from his railroad company and make a study of it. This is necessary in order to know how to pack and describe each shipment on bills of lading so as to obtain the most favorable class, and not fail to enter separately the weight of each article that is sub- THE IRON AGE 749 ject to a different class. The packing of freight is very important, as it controls the classification to a very large degree. Slight changes in packing frequently effect con- siderable saving in the class and rates. It is possible, though difficult, to bring about changes in the classification. Recently an article having a large sale was changed from first to third class without any change in the packing. This change was accomplishe: by manufacturers combining their efforts and insisting for some months that a first class rate was unjust and inconsistent. Later the manufacturers sent a representa- tive to appear before the Classification Committee, and by the aid of photographs convinced the committee that the article, as packed for shipment, was entitled to the lower class, Average Shippers Have Little Knowledge About Rates Considerable publicity has been given the matter of rates by the enactment of recent laws and the investiga- tion of well-known shippers. Nevertheless, this is a mat- ter about which the average shipper has little knowledge and fails to comprehend the fine points. Jobbers fre- quently complain that competitors at some principal point are able to ship into a certain territory at a rate as low or lower than they are able to obtain for a much shorter distance, and they do not understand it. In most in- stances this is accomplished by what are known as ex- ceptions to the official classification. All large railroad companies issue exception sheets, although this fact is unknown to many shippers. These exception sheets name articles that the carrier and its allied lines will accept at a lower rate or class than named in the regularly distributed tariffs or classifications. These sheets are properly filed so as to meet all legal requirements, but their existence is known only to certain shippers and such others as may accidentally learn of them. The exception sheet of one of the large Eastern rail- roads, for instance, enters axes, in boxes, L. C. L., at fourth class, while the official classification is third class. The same exception sheet enters bolts, in boxes or kegs, at fifth class; and iron bars and many other iron and steel articles, L. C. L., at fifth class. The official classi- fication is fourth class, Actual Instances Cited. A hardware jobber recently called his shipping clerk’s attention to the fact that a manufacturer was making shipments for a distance of 400 miles and obtaining a rate as low as the jobber could obtain for less than 200 miles. Investigations showed that exception sheets were in use by the carrier of the manufacturer’s ship- ments, which enabled him to obtain a low rate. In an- other case the exception sheets of a prominent railroad give an estimated weight on certain articles which is lower than the actual weight that is supposed to apply under the official classification. Special commodity rates are quite generally known to apply to bulky freight, such as grain, coal, sand, stone, &e., but it is not generally known that commodity rates are issued between certain points on manufactured ar- ticles. These rates are filed as the law requires, and are used for all shippers forwarding the same class of freight in that territory. A manufacturer located in a small town on one railroad influences the issuing of a commodity rate on his product. A competitor at an- other point in the same State pays the regular and of course a higher rate, and, as a rule, knows nothing about the existence of commodity rates. These rates are not for general distribution even among freight agents, and are filed only at the points where the freight orig- inates. In this way the rate is known only by the legal authorities, the shipper and the railroad employees at that point. The law is complied with by filing the rate with the Interstate Commerce Commission 30 days before it is used and having tariffs on file at the railroad office from which shipments are made. Transportation is gne of the momentous questions of the present day merchant and should receive from him sufficient attention to enable him to acquire the knowl- edge that will result in his reducing his freight account to the minimum. 750 THE The New Gorton Cutting-Off Machine. When an altogether new principle is introduced in a machine that has gradually developed into a more or less standard form, usually some time is required to perfect it, and such has been the case with the innovation in cutting-off machines illustrated herewith. The idea of turning a saw blade inside out, so to speak, putting the teeth on the inside of a circle instead of the outside, first occurred to the inventor, George Gorton, over 20 years 5 FROM CENTER OF ROTATION TO POINT OF CUTTER 15''FROM CENTER OF ROTATION TO PITCH LINE OF ORIVING GEAR | WVVIg ss % 10''FROM POINT OF CUTTERS TO PITCH LINE OF ORIVING GEAR \Y Y VY YA FEED WORM THE NEW WAY Fig. 1.—Diagram Comparing the Leverages of the Driving to the IRON AGE March 5, 1908 Company, Madison, Wis., have been evolved during four or five years of experimental designing, building and testing, and are claimed to overcome entirely the ten- dency of the blade to vibrate; as a consequence a cutting feed or saw advance of 3 in. per min, can now be maintained on regular commercial open hearth steel bars of 4 in. diameter and over. When operating on 6-in. open hearth steel bars at a saw advance of 4 in. per min., severing the bar in 14% min., it is stated that no vibra- tion is noticeable in any part of the machine, although the 6-in. machine illustrated herewith weighs only 7000 15 "FROM CENTER OF ROTATION TO CUTTER POINT OF M CENTER OF ROTATION TO PITCH LINE OF DRIVING GEAR \ 4 = 7 - PY ger M/ || As THE OLD WAY ‘utting Power of Saws Built on the Old and New Principles. Fig. 2.—Diametrically Opposite Views of the No. 2-A Cutting-Off Machine Built by the Geo. Gorton Machine Company, Madison, Wis. ago, but the scheme offered no real advantage at that time. Solid saw blades of the old type could be driven to the full capacity that their material allowed, but the high speed steels now available, transfer the output limit- ing factor to the driving mechanism. Vibration and chat- ter result if certain speeds or feeds are exceeded, because of the leverage of the work over the saw driving gear, in the present established arrangement. The latest machines built by the Geo. Gorton Machine lb. The best record on equivalent work performed by a machine of the ordinary type weighing 20,000 to 25,000 lb. is reported to be 6 min. The line drawing, Fig. 1, compares the dimensions of the working features of machines of corresponding capacity employing the old and the new principles, and illustrates the contention that the latter provides a saw drive nine times as power- ful as that of any ordinary design of cutting-off saw. The saw blade being supported around its entire periph- SA AALS A me ee SA a ARLENE oe March 5, 1908 ery, has no tendency to buckle or shake, and the inserted teeth being on the inside of the blade are more rigidly supported and less likely to work out than those in the common form of blade. The feed mechanism gives a 2 to 1 leverage over the saw, further aiding materially in its smooth running. The blade is supported by a frame which carries a 90- degree segment of a worm gear operated by a large worm running in oil. This worm is mounted on a hollow shaft, which may be driven at the forward end by a large hand wheel or at the rear end by a smaller worm connected with a friction clutch operated by a push rod ending in the smaller wheel, shown at the center of the large hand wheel, in Fig. 2. By means of the hand wheel the saw frame may be quickly raised, as in Fig. 3, to give access to the cutters. Six speeds for power feeding are pro- vided in geometrical progression; these on the 6-in. ma- chine are capable of severing a 6-in. bar at rates varying from 1% to 544 min., when the saw teeth are revolving at a speed of 75 ft. per min., and are thoroughly lubri- cated with a compound of water, lard oil, soda and soap. The main driving pulley is 14 in. in diameter by 10 in. face, and runs at 350 rev. per min. When severing a G-in. open hearth steel bar in 1% min., 18 hp. is re- Fig. 3.—The Gorton Saw Blade Elevated to Give Access to the Inserted Steel Cutters. quired for the driving. All gears are of large size, and are cut from the solid. The main saw driving pinion is a steel forging integral with the shaft. Special attention has been given to lubrication throughout, and all bear- ings are protected from grit, and all gears are fully in- closed. The bearings of the saw drum are immersed in oil, and all other bearings including the feed works are ring oiling. The saw frame being hung on trunnions from above, is out of the reach of grit, which so often shows its effect in badly cut ways in the ordinary sawing machines. Effort has been made to produce a tool capable of hard service at high efficiency, as nearly as possible fool procf, and so capable of being operated by unskilled labor. The base is a strong one-piece casting heavily ribbed, and webbed across the entire bottom, which forms a large water pan. An opening is provided at the rear for removing chips, which settle and slide down a chip screen to an outside pan. <A geared pump circulates water or saw lubricant through a system of piping. Three stock supports are furnished provided with rollers to enable heavy bar stock to be placed on the supports by a crane and readily passed through the machine. An ad- THE IRON AGE 75% justable gauge which may be swung over when not re- quired, guides the setting of the work for cutting to exact lengths. The length of the 6-in. machine overall is 84 in., the width 56 in., and the hight 78 in. With the automatic feed release in action 6-in. round or square stock may be cut, and by back feeding 2 in. by hand and then throwing in the power feed, it is possible to sever 8-in. round stock. The net weight of the machine illustrated is 7000 lb. It can be furnished either for belt-drive or for electric- drive by a directly connected motor. Other sizes will soon be ready for the market, including 4-in., 9-in., and 1214-in. machines, weighing from 5000 to 25,000 Ib. —__—_. The Brady Brass Company Wins Its Alloy Suit. The United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Third District has reversed the Federal Court for the Dis- trict of New Jersey in the suit of the Ajax Metal Com- pany against the Brady Brass Company, Daniel H. Brady of New York, president, and finds that the patent upon which infringement was claimed is invalid. This case had been in the courts since 1903, and was argued on ap- peal in December last in Philadelphia for the defendant corporation by Judge Morgan J. O’Brien, before the full bench of the appellate tribunal. This result is regarded as of unusual importance and interest to the entire metal world. Owing to the legal points involved and the important questions disposed of, it is considered as on a parity with the noted Goodyear rubber cases and calculated to attract equally widespread attention from men engaged in the metal trade as well as patent lawyers and all who have occasion to use journal bearings and engine castings. The Ajax Metal Company set up the claim that it had invented and patented an alloy capable of holding up within itself more lead than had been previously pos- sible without the use of nickel, and had thus produced a bearing consisting of less than 7 per cent. of tin and more than 20 per cent. of lead and the balance copper. The validity of the patent was sustained by the trial court, but has just been reversed upon appeal. The opinion of the appellate court by Judge George Gray, in passing upon the claims of the plaintiff, says that “ the patent is for a product and not for a process. There is no claim for any particular method of combining the constituents of this alloy, and the specification only states the ordinary foundry practice, well known and recognized by those skilled in the art.” Discussing the metallurgical features, the court says that points upon which the Ajax Company bases its claim for novelty of invention were all known and well under- stood by the trade long before the application for patent. The written opinions and the evidence of distinguished experts like Dr. Charles B. Dudley of the Pennsylvania Railroad; Prof. John W. Langley, a graduate of Harvard; Dr. Charles F. Chandler and Dr. Joseph W. Richards, who were witnesses in the case, are quoted to confirm the main point, that the alloy in question was not patentable as it “differed in degree and not in kind” from that which had been on the market for a long time. Concerning the Ajax claim that it had discovered a critical point,” so-called, in copper-tin alloys, the court quotes the testimony of Dr. Albert Sauveur, a witness for the Ajax Company, to show that this “critical point” was known at least three years prior to the application for the patent in litigation “by all students who have conducted the necessary experiments.” Finally, the opin- ion, after a careful and thorough discussion of all the features, says: “A mere difference in the proportions of the consti- tuents of an alloy, however useful the result may be, does not entitle the originator to the monopoly of a patent, in the absence of other circumstances than those here dis- closed. Being of the opinion that the patent in suit is invalid, it is unnecessary to consider other grounds of defense, though we may be permitted to say that the prior public use set up in the answer of the defendant seems to us to bave been sustained by the testimony. The decree of the court below is therefore reversed.” Starting Gasoline Engines. BY WALTER IRVING. Small gas and gasoline engines may readily be started by turning the flywheel by hand, if the compres- sion is reduced temporarily by opening a small relief cock, or by holding the exhaust valve open during part of the compression stroke. Large engines, after once being put in operation, usually are subsequently started by air compressed during the running of the engine by an air pump directly attached to or driven by the engine. The compressed air is stored in a tank until it is needed after the next succeeding shutdown, when it is admitted into the engine cylinder through a special valve whose operation is controlled by a sliding cam on the 2 to 1 shaft. During the first part of both suction and expan- sion strokes this valve admits compressed air to the THE IRON AGE giving a weak report, the mixture is not properly pro- portioned. The proportions of the mixture of air and gasoline may be changed by adjusting a brass set screw in the top of the sta